20160403

#ISSAGOesplaces: Tagaytay! {033116-040116}

Anyone got pranked this April 1? I don't need a specific day in a year to be fooled though, since it happens everyday. Char.

ANYWAY, I actually did it and went to Tagaytay with friends! Nearby place in the south, but commuting and staying with friends still feels pretty great. Felt like I was backpacking!

If you knew me well enough, I am a scrooge, a cheapskate who loves all things free or close to it. So you'll be amused (and I proud) to know that I spent more or less 300 PHP throughout the whole trip! More on that later! Wahaha

Shameless selfie lolz

March 31: Like what I mentioned before, I was alone in the condo. My dad and sister left at around midnight, leaving me still awake, chatting with people and surfing the web (What an early 2000 phrase). I could NOT sleep at all, managing only half an hour from 3-3:30AM. I was too scared to, as if I'd see someone all up my face if I opened my eyes.

Once I mustered up the energy to get ready and leave, it was around 4AM and we took a bus going to Coastal Mall. It was an ordinary bus, and considering that it was early morning, it was really bumpy and freaky (Though if you knew me, I was more amused than focusing on praying for my life). Once we arrived in Coastal Mall, we immediately got a bus going to Nasugbu, Batangas. It was close to empty, so I managed to shamelessly lie down on good seats and tried to get some shuteye. I couldn't, though. The bus was cold, the seats were comfy, my sleep playlist was on, but for the life of me, I just kept waking up. Wah.

I wasn't joking about lying down on the bus seats! Just sucks that my legs were longer than the seats (shucks, what a dilemma)

We arrived in Tagaytay at around 6AM, but overshot. We went down a few thousand steps too far from where we were supposed to be, so we ended up having to walk to Olivarez. Yikes. Better than ending up in Batangas, though.

We ended up resting after arriving at home, eating breakfast and deciding where to go. We ended up in People's Park in the Sky!

Outside the house! Wish there was an escalator instead of trudging my weight uphill!

Took a jeepney going up up up and then walked a bit to get to the top. Can you believe that the walk took about five minutes, but the jeepney driver charged us 40PHP for the ride up? No thank you, my legs need to exercise anyway!

We just ended up practically hiking anyway, walking a lot that day. That and the view was breathtaking, it actually did feel as if we went up the mountains (Which... I think we did?)!

I knew I brought my cam for a reason!

I've been to People's Park in the Sky once when I was around 15, and I don't remember much about it. But it's pretty interesting seeing the mansion Marcos' family would be staying in. There was even an auditorium! It was fun to guess who'd own which room and what it would have looked like.

There were a lot of stalls selling food and souvenirs and all that jazz, pretty cool to see them take advantage of the space. What iffed me was the fact we had to pay 20PHP to take a photo with the horse (Which I obviously didn't). And some vendors can get a bit pushy, even putting on the pity effect to get you to buy their product (Which I still didn't).

That view though!

The view on the left photo's better jk I would like to thank my friends for putting up with my constant asking to take photos of me

The highlight of the whole visit wasn't the wind, the view, or the fact that I was able to exercise my legs even just a bit, but the strawberry taho! Needed to do that for emphasis.

I mean, it's taho with strawberry syrup, no big deal. But as an anorexic who has never had taho since last year (a bit of an unsafe food), it tasted better than great. The recovery logical side of my mind and taste buds thanked me for it. 20PHP = worth it.

We went home and had lunch, and since I wasn't the only one who lived on half an hour of sleep, we all ended up taking a long nap 'til late afternoon. At that point we were too lazy to go anywhere (Tagaytay hits, seriously), so we just ended up walking around the neighborhood and found out about the hidden fields a few blocks by our house!

View of the sunset by the fields! S H U C K S such a refresher compared to the city life!

It was beautiful and the fields were vast. You'd see cows, goats, horses, and a little scared puppy to keep you company. It would be perfect to go stargazing or to watch the sunrise, so we promised to do that the next day instead of go out to Picnic Grove, since it would have been the same but more crowded and costly.

I swear I didn't know about this place 'til now... All the years being cooped up in the house!

Had an early dinner and I just chilled by the balcony and had a few drinks while reading. That's the best part about being in a cold place. Enjoying the breeze with a cold drink and a good book, wearing a thick jacket and just living in the moment. Those are the times where I truly thank my lucky stars for being alive and well.

Then I ended up getting a bit tipsy and conked out at like 8:30PM. Youch.

April 1: Woke up at 4:30AM only to drink a LOT of tea and fall back asleep and wake up at 6:30AM. Had breakfast and ended up chilling for a bit by the fields. Next time, I'll be having brunch here!

Perfect morning to chill with my Playboy bunny socks

This lil cutie came to accompany us!

We were in a bit of a hurry after, so we just got ready and left at around 11AM. The whole commute took 3 hours because of the traffic! Bleh, Manila.

So yes, I basically spent a bit less than 300 PHP for the whole trip! Granted, we were at my aunt's house, so that saves a lot.

I love budgeting, so here's how I did it:

Bus going to Coastal - 17 PHP

Bus going to Tagaytay - 75 PHP

Tricycle going to the house - 27 PHP

Jeepney ride going to Palace in the Sky - 8 PHP

Entrance fee to Palace in the Sky - 30 PHP

Strawberry Taho - 20 PHP

2 jeepney rides going home - 5 + 8 PHP

Jeepney ride going to Olivarez - 13 PHP

Bus ride going to my place - 77 PHP

= 280 PHP!

I packed my own food, which is what really saved my wallet from dying of emptiness. That and since I'm usually up there, I don't really purchase souvenirs and stuff like that. I actually don't purchase a lot of material things at all, unless I consider them as investments. I'm a very fun person. Lol.

Once I arrived at my place, the internet was working so I frantically updated everything, from my posts for sale to contacting my contractors regarding my latest writing projects. Wrote a few articles and had a very late lunch and dinner. Since I vowed not to have Subway starting April 1, it was lutong bahay for me. And I'm not complaining. It's a bit of a scare for me as I have no idea what the calorie content of what I eat are, and I probably will gain a bit (Update: I'm bloating!), so... Wish me luck, I guess? I'm enjoying the food and my life overall, so that's what matters. Just realized that it's almost been a year since I first binged then choose to start recovering (April 25!)

Well anyway... To the next trip! :-)

Will be posting what happened during my weekend (040216-040316) tomorrow! Or today... It's 1AM. Either way, will be posting it later! See ya!